


There's a Wolf on the Moon

by Skippyin



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nothing too bad gore/violence wise, Werewolf!Magnus, i had an idea and i'm rolling with it, if it does get bad tho i'll add a warning at the start of the chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-11 08:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11144313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skippyin/pseuds/Skippyin
Summary: Then there was a flash of movement. A furry blur out of the corner of his eye that rushed from one shadow to another further into the alleyway. Was it? Could it be?“Dog? Doggy?!” Magnus gasped.------------Magnus goes out drinking one night, and ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time.





	1. A Wild Night

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed a few people had artwork of a Werewolf!Magnus but there's like... One fic. To my knowledge at least. Maybe there are more and I just haven't seen it.
> 
> Anyways I had this idea and I'm just rolling with it for right now. Hope you guys enjoy!

The pub was alive with music and chatter. Men and women of all races and classes were drinking, laughing and spending the evening enjoying themselves. Magnus sat at the bar, a large mug of mead in his hands, his foot lightly tapping to the music being played by the bards on the other side of the room. The Running Lamb was a small pub in Neverwinter, but it was one of Magnus’ favorites because it was always so lively. A great place to sit down, have a drink, hear some stories, and arm wrestle strangers.

Magnus downed his mug in one go, slamming it down on the wooden counter, causing any objects set nearby to appear to jump “Heyyy Percy, can I get a refill over here?!”

A thin unassuming human man walked over on the other side of the counter. He was in a button up white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a dark vest, pants, and well-shined shoes. He was holding a rag in his hand, having been wiping the counter clean just moments before.

“It’s Percival, Magnus, but sure let me get you filled up,” The bartender, Percival, took Magnus’ mug with a grin and filled it back up to the brim with mead. “There you are,” He placed it back down on the counter which Magnus quickly swiped up and took a big gulp.

“That’s the stuff,” Magnus hiccupped. How many mugs was that now? Ten? Ah who was counting, certainly not him. All he knew is that he was still way too sober, so he took another few hearty chugs.

“You seem to be in a good mood tonight Magnus,” Percival commented taking the rag up in his hands again and fidgeting with it.

“This place always gets me in a good mood!” He said “It’s swinging every night!”

“Yes,” The man looked proudly out over the lively room “It certainly is.”

“Must’ve been hard getting a tiny place like this so popular, huh?”

“Oh yes,” He nodded, hand coming up to play with the iron pendant around his neck “It was a lot of work, but in the end, it was definitely worth it.” His blue eyes scanned the room “I have big plans for this place, Magnus. Just you wait.”

“Sounds like it’ll be a blast!” Magnus exclaimed, roughly patting the short bartender on the shoulder “Oh, lemme guess. Are you gonna build a stage and have shows?”

“Well that would be nice but—“

“Percy, what kind of shows would you have? Bands? Performers? A dancing bear?”

“Percival, and no I don’t think having a bear in here would be a good idea.”

“Ah, it’d be fine. I’m sure there are plenty of folks in here who’d love to go a few rounds with a bear, I know I would.” Magnus took another big swig of his drink.

Percival simply chuckled, shook his head, and went off to serve a table that was calling for him.

It was very late when Percival announced it was closing time, to the disappointment of some of the patrons. Magnus gave him a firm pat on the shoulder, drunkenly spoke something at him in Elvish (that was so slurred beyond belief not even the elves in the room could understand him), before making his way out with the rest of the patrons. He managed to stumble himself to a good spot to call down an orb but figured he should call the boys back up on the moon to let them know he was on his way home first, just in case. He dug into his pockets looking for his stone of far-speech. It took him a whole 60 seconds for his blitzed brain to register that the stone wasn’t on his person.

“Fuuuck… Must’ve left it back at the pub…” Magnus said aloud. He turned on his heel and started the long way back to the pub to see if he could retrieve his stone.

By the time he returned, the (real) moon was high in the sky. All the lights were off in the building and a sign saying the place was closed was hung on the door. Magnus tried the door knob but found it locked. Great. He stared at the door for a while, trying to figure out how to get inside.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He could use the thief’s tools in his pocket. He could pick the lock, get his stone, and leave. Magnus, being drunk, instantly thought this a perfect idea, never mind that breaking and entering was illegal and he could get arrested if he were caught. He got down on his knees, pulled out his lock pick, and immediately set to work. It took him a few minutes but he managed to get the door open. Success!

The pub was dark and quiet. It was almost eerie considering how lively it had been a mere hour before. He squinted in the dark, silently wishing he had darkvision like his elf and dwarven companions, but the light of the full moon pouring in from the windows would have to do.

“Stoney, where are yooou?” He whispered, knowing that the rock couldn’t respond. Magnus looked on the counter, moved some abandoned mugs to the side, and saw a familiar shape “A-ha!” He picked up the stone of far-speech throwing his arms up in the air “Stone of far-speech, reclaimed! Time to go home.”

Magnus exited the pub and shut the door behind him, starting to walk down the street when a strange noise came from around the back of the building. He paused, trying to identify the sounds. It sounded like something had knocked over a trashcan. Curious, Magnus walked down a narrow alleyway to the back of the building, sure enough, a trashcan had been knocked over. Feeling it’d be wrong to just leave a mess like that for his bar buddy Percy; Magnus knelt, shoveled the garbage back where it belonged, and righted the trashcan.

Then there was a flash of movement. A furry blur out of the corner of his eye that rushed from one shadow to another further into the alleyway. Was it? Could it be?

“Dog? Doggy?!” Magnus gasped. Was there a stray dog back here that knocked over the trashcan trying to eat scraps? Did it need help? Magnus’ intoxicated mind was rampant with thoughts of a new furry friend. He slowly walked closer to where he saw the furry blur run off to. He could just barely make out a silhouette crouched in a dark corner untouched by the light of the moon. As he approached, he heard a deep canine growl.

He put his hands up and stopped “Whoa there, buddy. It’s okay, doggo. I’m not gonna hurt you,” Magnus took a few steps forward, which was met by more angry growling. Perhaps it was the alcohol in his system that told him not to turn around and leave this possibly rabid dog alone. Maybe the idea of smuggling a dog up onto the moon and keeping it a secret from the Director excited him. Or maybe Magnus was just very fond of dogs. Either way, he didn’t stop advancing until he was a foot away from the canine and reaching out a hand “I just wanna be your buddy.”

It happened so fast.

There was the gleam of yellow eyes, a heavy body-tackling him, the flash of teeth, and finally a deep pain in his left shoulder.

Magnus blacked out.


	2. A Bad Night

His mind was hazy. His head throbbed with the dull pain of a hangover. How drunk did he get last night?

Magnus opened his eyes, the familiar sight of his bedroom ceiling greeting him. Huh, he didn’t remember coming home. So, he got _extremel_ y drunk, if he had to guess.

He sat up and immediately cringed when his shoulder lit up with dull pain. His hand flew up and gripped at his shoulder, it was bandaged and stained red. An injury. Magnus’ aching head was drawing a blank. What happened?

The door to his room opened, letting in the light and causing Magnus to groan. That didn’t help his headache.

“Mornin’,” The short figure of Merle waddled in, carrying a glass of water “How’re you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a battlewagon,” Magnus groaned laying back down and covering his face with a pillow.

“Yeah you must have had quite the night. You came back completely out of it and sporting that,” He pointed to the bandaged injury on his shoulder “What the hell happened?”

“Uh…” The human paused, trying to remember “I went to The Running Lamb, got really drunk, and…” He shook his head “I don’t remember.”

Merle sighed and put the water down on Magnus’ bedside table “You said something about a dog, were practically in tears about it.”

“A dog…?” Something seemed familiar about that but, there was something about it not quite right. It felt as if an important detail were right there on the edge of his memory but he couldn’t reach it.

“I can only assume that’s how you got that nasty looking bite,” Merle crossed his arms “You better hope that thing wasn’t rabid.”

“Yeah.” Magnus pulled his face out from under the pillow and stared at the water left next to him “That for me?”

“No, it’s for the other guy who came back completely smashed crying about a dog biting him,” The dwarf answered sarcastically, earning him a chuckle from Magnus “Of course it’s for you. Your throat is probably as dry as a desert.”

He was right, Magnus was parched. He sat up, lifted the glass and drank it like a dying man in the desert before setting it back down. While it did solve the problem of his thirst, it didn’t help his headache. He laid back down and groaned “Hey, you’re supposed to be a healer. Think you can cure this hangover and bite? I’ve got better things to do than lay in bed all day feeling like crap.”

Merle sighed “You really want me to waste a spell on your ass? You don’t just want to wait?”

“I have a sparring match with Carey this afternoon,” He explained, “And besides it’s not like we’re going anywhere so you’ll get it back.”

Merle grumbled something in Dwarven and put a hand on Magnus’ forehead. A faint light emanated from his palm and Magnus could feel the energy pulsing into him. His headache vanished, the light coming from the open door didn’t bother him anymore, and he started getting his appetite back. Once that was done, Merle pulled his hand away and gave him a strange look.

“ _Much_ better,” Magnus sat up and quirked an eyebrow “What’s with that look?”

“Nothing it’s just… Hmm,” Merle reached up and started unraveling Magnus’ bandages, revealing it perfectly healed “The wound was already almost completely closed when I cast the spell. Which is strange… An injury like that usually takes a while to heal on its own. Did you drink a healing potion before I came in?”

Magnus shook his head.

“Huh,” He ran a hand through his beard “That’s strange. But I guess a lucky break for me because I didn’t have to use nearly as much energy as I thought I would. Win-win.”

Magnus rolled his shoulder, staring at where the injury used to be. There was something he was forgetting, something important… Maybe not that important, seeing as how he forgot it. He shrugged off the thought and stood up, shaking himself awake.

“Thanks, Merle, I’m feeling great now!” He offered his short friend a smile, which Merle returned.

“Well, don’t go getting drunk again tonight. I’m amazed you even made it home last night at all. Next time you might not get so lucky.”

“Yeah… Lucky…”

* * *

 

With the return of Magnus’ health also came the return of his appetite. He was famished. So, he made his way over to the cafeteria. He had slept in, so he missed breakfast, but that was okay. He was having a very specific craving: meat. And there’s no better time to have meat then lunch time.

By the time Magnus sat down to eat, he had a sandwich stacked with all manners of ham, beef, and poultry on his plate. He didn’t even think it excessive till someone pointed it out. That someone being Angus, who came to sit across from him.

“Hello, sir! Gosh, that is a lot of lunch meats.”

“Hey Angus,” He reached across the table and ruffled the boy’s hair, “You think so? I honestly feel like I could eat a horse right now.”

“How are you feeling? I heard you weren’t doing so good this morning.” Angus asked as he fixed his cap.

“I’m feeling fantastic. I had Merle heal me up.” The large man spoke around the food he had stuffed in his mouth in the two seconds it took Angus to talk. He swallowed what he had in his mouth before pointing at a folder Angus had set down on the table “What’s that?”

“This?” Angus lifted the unmarked folder “Just a file on recent events in Neverwinter I’ve been keeping track of.”

“Like what?” The large man shoved a slice of ham into his mouth, giving the boy a curious look.

“Some unsolved cases of murders and some disappearances, it’s important to keep track of these things down planetside to make sure we’re not unknowingly sending unprepared agents to their deaths when missions are distributed,” Angus placed the folder down “You were in Neverwinter last night, weren’t you? Did you hear anything interesting?”

Magnus shook his head and shrugged “There’s no way I’d remember if I heard anything useful. I was _very_ drunk. Sorry, buddy.”

“It’s alright, sir. But gosh, these unsolved crimes are turning out to be quite the mystery! I can’t wait for that satisfying ah-ha moment where everything clicks into place.”

“The more difficult the case the more satisfying the ah-ha will be.”

“Exactly!” Angus beamed and Magnus had to keep himself from choking on his food. Damn it, the kid was too precious.

“Well, I hope that moment comes soon, Ango.” Magnus said before returning to his larger than normal meal.

* * *

 

Carey swung the wooden training staff down, which Magnus blocked successfully and pushed to get some space between them.

Sparring with the Dragonborn woman had come sooner than Magnus had expected. They were using simple wooden staves, trying to be the first to land a blow. So far, Magnus had done a good job at avoiding Carey’s attacks. Usually, Carey won these sorts of matches that required one to be quick on their feet. Carey was speedy while Magnus was a larger and slower target.

Today, however, he was determined to win their game.

Carey ran to the left, Magnus reacted quickly and swept his staff down to trip her. She jumped, rolled behind him, and lunged at his back. Magnus dropped onto his bottom, rolled onto his back, held his feet up, and - once Carey’s jump positioned her right above him - he kicked and sent her flying.

She landed onto the mat with a loud “OOF!” Her staff fell at her side. Magnus, now on his feet, walked over, and lightly tapped her on the snout with his staff.

“I win,” He said with a large grin on his face.

Carey laughed and swatted the staff away from her face “Wow Magnus, have you gotten stronger since last week? And quicker? Extra training maybe?”

He reached out a hand and helped her to her feet. Looking at her puzzled he said “Uh, nope, nothing like that. Maybe I’m just in the zone today.”

“Whatever. That was a great match. Best two out of three?” She asked hopefully.

“I dunno, I was thinking about maybe—“ Carey pulled out Magnus’ wallet from her pocket, cutting him off in the middle of his sentence, “Hey! That’s mine! How did you – When did – Give it back!”

 “I’ll give it back if you win again!” She smiled, kicking her staff up with her foot and catching it in the air.

“You’re on, Fangbattle!”

Magnus won the next match as well, though that one he couldn’t escape from getting a few minor scrapes and bruises from a misplaced roll that took him off that mat and into some chairs. He barely felt the minor injuries though, so they weren’t that big a deal. About an hour or so later, he would fail to notice, that they would be gone as if they had never been there.

* * *

 

“Something bothering you?” Taako’s voice pulled Magnus out of his thoughts “You only pace around like that when you’re frustrated.” He called from the nearby sofa.

“Yeah, just trying to remember something,” Magnus said, scratching the side of his face “I swear there’s something important I forgot because of all that mead.”

“It can’t be _that_ important,” Taako lazily glanced over his shoulder to raise a thin eyebrow “Unless it’s something like forgetting your wallet.”

“Forgetting my…” Magnus blinked “Oh!” He reached into his pocket and dug out his stone of far-speech “I remember now. I forgot my stone of far-speech at the pub and went back to get it! And I – oh…” He made a sharp inhale through his teeth.

“What’d you do?” Taako grinned, ears perked up, his gossip senses were tingling.

“I… May have broken into the pub after it had closed to get it back…”

The elf let out a sharp laugh “You managed to pick a lock while completely drunk off your ass?!”

That had to be it, he thought, that must have been what he was forgetting. He could get in serious trouble if anybody planetside found out, so he’d probably have to avoid spilling anything about that. Yet, something else was pressing at his mind.

“You do anything else crazy?” Taako asked clearly amused.

“No, I don’t remember anything after leaving.” He shook his head.

“So not only did you break the law but you also got bitten by a dog trying to make it, and I quote ‘Be your good good buddy’,” Taako used air quotes “Amazing.”

“Yeah, that sounds like something I’d say.”

“You were bawling like a baby. You were just so upset it bit you.”

“Okay, Taako.” Magnus crossed his arms and felt some damage to his pride.

“I’ve been betrayed!” Taako said resting a hand on his forehead and doing his best mocking imitation of Magnus “I thought he was my friend!” The elf grinned “I mean seriously what the fuck Mags, talk about a dumb fuss to get into over a stupid dog.”

“ _Okay,_ Taako, I get it,” Magnus snapped.

“Yeesh, touchy today…” Taako watched the human leave the room in a huff “Who the fuck shoved bees up your ass to get you in such a bad mood?!” He called after him.

Magnus slammed the door behind himself. Weird, usually he wasn’t so quick to anger.

* * *

 

The rest of the day was uneventful, but it seemed that Magnus’ livelier than normal energy seemed like a welcome surprise to the other members of the Bureau of Balance.

“I don’t know, I just feel really great today!” Magnus would say if anyone asked why he was so energetic.

The day began to wind down, the sun started lazily setting in the sky, and Magnus sat alone in his room, idly witling away at a block of wood that was vaguely beginning to take the shape of a duck.

 _“I wonder what the dog that bit me was like,"_ Magnus thought to himself _“Usually I’m so good with animals. I’m proficient in animal handling for Pan’s sake! Either my being drunk gave me a disadvantage, or there was something wrong with that dog.”_

The thought made him pause. Something wrong with the dog… Something wrong…

He couldn’t see from his room, but the sun had nearly completely set, the true moon starting to appear as it got darker.

Something was wrong with that dog. Something was _very_ wrong.

The final rays of day died out and the stars began appearing one by one in the sky. The moon’s light beginning to shine down in the sun’s place.

What could have been wrong with it? There was a thought fighting to get to the front of his mind, a memory that had been blocked by his drunken stupor. That dog… No. It was too big.

The moon was out fully, showering the world with its silver light. Full and beautiful.

Magnus dropped the wooden duck and his carving knife. He grabbed his left shoulder, it had started to ache. When did he get so sweaty? Was it always this hot in here? _What was that dog?_ It wasn’t like any dog Magnus had ever seen. Unless…

“It wasn’t a dog,” The minute the words left his mouth the memories slammed into his brain.

Feral and hungry yellow eyes. Sharp teeth digging into his shoulder. Clawed hands pinning him to the stone. A scream tearing from his throat at the pain.

“Oh, gods,” Magnus’ breathing picked up as the pain spread from his shoulder to the rest of his body like lightning. He fell out of his chair with a loud clatter and writhed on the floor, wrapping his arms around his midsection. He bit down on his tongue to keep himself from screaming. It felt like every part of him was on fire.

 _It wasn’t a dog. It wasn’t a dog. It wasn’t a dog._ The thought was on loop in his head. His eyes started spilling tears onto the carpet.

“It hurts so bad, make it stop,” He wheezed and let out a groan “Any deities listening, please make it stop.”

There was a sickening cracking noise, white hot pain traveled up his spine. He felt as if he were being ripped apart. He couldn’t hold it in anymore and made the loudest scream he could muster.

Magnus’ scream turned into a howl.

* * *

 

A blood-curdling scream drew the attention of the dorm suite’s other two residence. Taako had been reading over his spellbook, and Merle had been tending to his plants. Both the elf and the dwarf jumped when they heard that horrible scream come from the direction of Magnus’ room. They both exited their rooms and approached Magnus’ door.

Taako banged on it loudly “Keep it down! You’re not the only one on the moon, ya know! There are people trying to do important shit!”

Merle rolled his eyes “Magnus? Are you okay?”

Silence…

“Are you hurt?”

…

“Did you have a nightmare?”

…

“Magnus, if I can have the gold you keep stashed under your bed, don’t say anything!” Taako called through the door.

_‘BANG’ ‘SLAM’ ‘CRASH’_

“I’m not hearing a no.”

“Taako, I think something is wrong,” Merle said with a huff slapping at the elf’s elbow “Magnus? We’re coming in.” He announced over the chorus of noise and turned the doorknob, slowly pushing the door open.

The room looked like a hurricane had blown through. Things were knocked over, wood carvings and knick-knacks picked up during their travels lay scattered across the floor. The lights were off, the only light coming from a damaged desk lamp that was flickering on and off. The owner of the room seemed absent.

“Magnus?” Merle quietly called into the room, stepping inside with Taako in tow.

“If he’s trying to prank us right now, it’s not working. I can see through this shit easy.” Taako commented, idly nudging a half finished wooden duck with his shoe.

Merle knelt and picked up the little black opal mirror Magnus had gotten from Lucas’ lab during Candlenights. It seemed okay. He turned it around in his hands a few times, looking at his own reflection in its surface. He paused when he saw movement. Merle squinted, trying to make out the figure behind him in the reflection.

“What the…?”

There was a growl from the corner behind them. Taako and Merle froze. They spun around just in time to see a large form charge at them. Taako flung a hand forward, spoke a few arcane words, and cast the spell Shield around them. The invisible bubble forming with a small ‘pop!’ sound, causing the creature to ram its head against it.

It backed up and rammed its head into the barrier, again and again. It snarled and clawed, trying to get at the two inside. After a few more failed attempts, it backed off and circled them.

Bright red eyes cut through the darkness, looking at the two of them with feral rage and an unnatural intelligence. Messy brown fur that stuck out all over the place covered it from head to toe.

“Is that a fucking BEAR or a huge wolf?” Merle asked.

It let out a sharp bark.

“That’s a wolf.”

It was the biggest damn wolf either of them had ever seen. However, there were little details that set off alarm bells in their heads. The scraps of clothing hanging off its body that they had seen in perfect condition a mere hour or so earlier. A familiar scar over its eye, and finally, a B.O.B bracer on its left forearm.

“Magnus…?” Taako whispered, his ears lowering in shock.

“Holy shit,” Merle breathed “Taako, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“That the dog Magnus got bitten by wasn’t a dog?”

“Well I was going to say we’re gonna get mauled, but that too.”

“No, we’re not.” Taako stepped forward.

The wolf that was Magnus also stepped forward, snarling at the elf. The two sized each other up.

“If you’re going to try to talk to him, it’s not going to work. Lycanthropy makes it so it’s victims have no control. He doesn’t recognize us.” Merle said.

“I know,” Taako stared into Magnus’ eyes “Which is why I’m gonna try this.”

He raised a hand just as Magnus was about to lunge again at the barrier, simple words slipped off his tongue, a small flash of dull light left his fingers.

Suddenly, Magnus collapsed. Taako had cast Sleep.

* * *

Magnus dreamed that he was fighting a wolf, but it ended too quickly for there to be a winner.


	3. A Troubling Day

He woke up sluggishly. His mind took its time to remember that reality existed and that he should open his eyes. When he cracked them open, he did not like what he saw.

His room was a mess! Everything was thrown around, and some things looked as if they had been chewed on or wet. Ew. Everything was overturned, some items were completely smashed. Steven seemed okay though, swimming around in his little ball like nothing had happened not too far away from where Magnus sat. Magnus noticed the state his clothes were in, he was practically in rags. His shirt and pants were draping off of him, stretched, torn, scratched, and for some reason, they smelled like dog. He righted his dresser, took out a new set of clothes, got changed, and then took the time to tidy up a bit. His brows furrowed as he investigated his busted up belongings. What the hell happened last night?

There was a hesitant sounding knock at his door.

“Magnus?” Taako’s voice came through “Are you… You?”

“Of course, I’m me, what are you talking about--?” He went to the door and opened it.

Taako and Merle were standing on the other side, looking concerned. They weren’t alone. A few guards stood with them. Magnus was confused.

“Uh, what’s going on?” He looked at his two friends and then the guards. The air was tense and he had a feeling he was the source for some bizzare reason.

“Magnus,” Merle started carefully “Do you remember what happened last night?”

“Last night?” He blinked and put a hand to his chin “I was doing some carving, my shoulder started hurting and… Nothing.” Magnus’ shoulders sagged “Oh no…”

“Yeah?”

“Did I get drunk again?!” Magnus exclaimed. Taako put a hand to his face and Merle sighed. “I did, didn’t I? What did I do? My room is a mess and my clothes were all torn up! Nothing too weird, I hope...”

“Oh no, nothing weird at all,” Taako looked up at him “You just turned into a wolf and tried to kill us.”

There was a long moment of silence.

Merle cleared his throat “We think, the dog that bit you, was actually a werewolf. That would mean… Well…”

“I’m… A werewolf?” Magnus pieced together slowly, quirking an eyebrow.

“It would seem so,” His short friend replied solemnly.

“That’s…” Magnus seemed shocked “Awesome!” His response caused everyone to jump “Holy shit, that’s so cool! I mean, it sucks that I attacked you guys and my room is a mess, but guys, I’m a werewolf! Did I look good?”

“Fucking terrifying actually,” Taako gave him an odd look. How could he be so relaxed about this? Magnus didn't seem to understand the severity of his situation yet.

“Cool!” He grinned widely.

“Er, yeah…” Merle and Taako shared a look “We thought you’d be more upset about this?”

“How can I? I’m a dog on the moon!”

“Yes well, we told the Director and she—“

“Wait, hold that thought!” Magnus raised a finger, closed his bedroom door, and changed into one of his homemade ‘Big Dog’ t-shirts before opening the door again “Okay, continue.”

Merle and Taako had to stifle laughter. It wasn’t the reaction they were expecting, but it was better than the alternative. How could they expect any different from Magnus? 

“We told the Director,” Merle continued, only his mood seemed to lighten a tad “She wants to talk to you in her office.”

“Alright,” Magnus shrugged and motioned to the guards standing behind his friends “By the way what’s with the guards?”

“They were placed outside your room in case you got out,” Taako turned on his heel and walked off to his room “Now if you excuse me, I have some beauty rest to catch up on. Hope the Director doesn’t enforce her “No Dogs on the Moon” rule and you get kicked off, buddy.”

“C’mon, she’s not going to do that,” Magnus rolled his eyes with a good-natured smile, before setting off for the Director’s office. A few guards tagging along.

* * *

 

“What?” Magnus blinked “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Lucretia sighed and folded her hands together on her desk “We’re going to have to lock you up, Magnus,” Magnus opened his mouth to protest but she held a hand up “Let me explain,” He huffed and leaned back in the chair, motioning for her to continue “The curse of Lycanthropy is a very serious matter. While it’s nice you don’t seem all that troubled by this development, you’ve become a risk to the other members of the Bureau. You could have _killed_ Taako and Merle last night, or they could have killed you in self-defense. You were lucky they recognized you at all.”

Magnus bit at his chapped lips, picking at the dried skin with his teeth. Could it have gotten that bad? He knew Taako and Merle were very talented, they could certainly hold their own with magic. They wouldn’t have gone so far as killing him had they not recognized him… Right?

_‘Of course, they would,’_ A part of his mind hissed _‘All three of you have a rap sheet of murder longer than your arm. If you so much as scratched one of them, they would have obliterated you.’_ Magnus was starting to grasp the severity of his situation a little bit better now.

“But why keep me locked up during the day? Don’t werewolves only turn on nights of the full moon?”

“In the most common cases, yes. However, the curse varies from person to person. There have been reports of lycanthropes shifting by merely losing their temper. Some shift every night instead of just on the full moon. Until we can figure out your pattern of transformation, it would be in everyone’s best interest to keep you contained.”

“I see,” He deflated a little at that “Would it be possible if—“

The door to the Director’s office opened and closed quickly followed by small footsteps and the smell of parchment and ink.

“Hey Angus,” Magnus greeted without even looking over his shoulder.

“How did you know it was me, sir?” Angus walked up next to Magnus a notebook and folder in his hands.

“Uh…” Magnus blinked, how _did_ he know? “Lucky guess, I guess? You reek of ink, Ango. There are only two people I can think of that’d spend their day doing nothing but writing, and the Director is sitting right in front of me.” This statement made the Director raise her eyebrows.

“Huh,” The boy leaned in a little closer, the smell clinging to him growing more intense in Magnus’ nose “It’s pretty common for people in your situation to have heightened senses when it comes to sound and smell.”

The Director cleared her throat to draw their attention, pinching the bridge of her nose. Of course, word had already gotten around that one of the three Reclaimers got himself cursed with Lycanthropy. Word seems to travel fast on the moon. “Angus, can I ask why you rushed in here so suddenly?”

“Yeah, rushing is usually my thing,” Magnus said with an amused grin.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Angus stood up straight with squared shoulders and presented the file he had “I believe Magnus might be connected to the series of incidents I’ve been following in Neverwinter. I’d like to ask him a few questions if that’s okay?”

Lucretia thought for a moment, before nodding and making a ‘go ahead’ motion with her hand.

Angus turned to Magnus, taking the feather quill out of his hat and preparing his notebook “You were bitten in Neverwinter, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Could you tell me what happened?”

Magnus looked down at his hands, twirling his thumbs as he steadily recounted what he could remember. He told Angus about leaving his stone of far-speech at the pub, but conveniently left out the part about the break in. Angus took notes diligently and surprisingly fast.

“I remember getting tackled to the ground but then things start getting fuzzy,” He shook his head.

“I see,” Angus nodded.

“So, how does my getting attacked connect to your case?” Magnus tilted his head to the side.

“I have a theory,” The child said with a flurry of his pen, finishing his notes. He looked up at Magnus with a twinkle in his eye “I think I’m very close to my ah-ha moment, sir.”

“Good for you kiddo, but I still don’t see—“

“Don’t worry, once I have definite proof not only will I be able to solve these incidents, but maybe help cure your curse as well!” Angus smiled and Magnus offered a hesitant smile back.

After Angus left, the Director and Magnus returned to their previous conversation. Magnus would be taken down to the holding cells and locked up until they could get a handle on his transformation pattern. He would be brought meals, and would be allowed to request things like books for entertainment, but leaving the cell would be strictly prohibited until the situation could be remedied. Magnus didn’t like it one bit. He was becoming a prisoner, basically. He tried to negotiate with Lucretia.

“How about letting me out for a few hours a day?”

“No.”

“Few hours every two days?”

“No.”

“Let me out but with supervision?”

“No.”

“Maybe if—“

“No, no, no, and for the last time no, Magnus,” She stood up from her chair with a stern look on her face “What if you kill someone? What if you curse someone else? You’ll never forgive yourself and there’s a good chance you’ll become hated and feared among your co-workers. I’m putting you on lockdown for the good of the Bureau and for yourself. Do you understand?”

“I—“ Magnus started but cut himself off, hesitated, and then sighed. She had a point, but he didn't like it. Something in him boiled. “Fine. I’ll co-operate.”

“Thank you.” The Director sighed “Your containment begins effective immediately. I’ll have some guards escort you to your cell. I’m sorry Magnus, but it really is for your own good.”

“Yeah, sure,” Frustration bubbled in his chest as he got up from his seat and headed for the door. It took all of Magnus’ self-restraint not to break the door knob out of anger as he left. A temper he didn’t remember having.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter with lots of dialogue... I could probably make it a whole lot better, I feel like I'm in a slump. No better way to get out of it then to keep writing, am I right?


	4. An Interesting Night

The cell wasn’t bad.

It was clean. It had all the necessities one needed for living. Bed, faucet, toilet, the usual. The Director had a few things added to help Magnus not feel like a prisoner. Like a paper screen to place in front of the toilet for privacy. There was a small bedside dresser with some drawers which contained some of Magnus’ clothes. A few of Magnus’ things were brought down to help him feel more comfortable, like Steven the goldfish, his stone of far-speech, his favorite comb, his toothbrush, and a few of his craft books.

Even though it was cozy, Magnus hated it. He hated the feeling of being confined to this small cell. He wanted to hang out with Taako and Merle, he wanted to playfully tease Angus, he wanted to train with Carey and Killian, or share stories with Avi. But instead, Magnus was stuck behind bars with nobody to talk to… Well, there was  _ one _ person, other than the guards.

Robbie was down there. The Pringles loving Halfling greeted Magnus with a surprised hello when he first came in. His cell was directly across from Magnus’ and it looked like he was still up to the same old stuff.

“Want another one of those ‘Hair-of-the-Dog” Potions?” Robbie asked nonchalantly as he took a swig from a bottle of a glowing purple substance, how the Halfling could still make those things without his alchemy kit was anybody’s guess. Apparently, the guards just gave up on taking the dank potions away from him. “Might help you cool off.”

“As funny and ironic as it would be, no, I don’t  _ want _ to cool off!” Magnus snapped, irritably bouncing his leg from where he sat on his bed “I’m just—I don’t get it, Pringles.”

“Robbie.”

“I don’t get it, Robbie Pringles.”

“Close enough,” He took another swig “What don’t you get, my man?”

“Why is everyone acting like my being a werewolf now is such a tragedy? I mean, am I the only one who sees the potential good here?”

“You’re a what now?”

“Werewolves are strong, and fast, and can heal quickly. Plus, they can turn into dogs! All I’m seeing here is a net positive.”

“Huh?”

“Why is everybody acting like I’ve contracted some incurable disease? I’m still me! I’m still Magnus! I’m  _ fine! _ They’re all just being so  _ stupid! _ ”

“Who’s they?”

“Taako and Merle looked at me like I had two heads. The Director has me in fucking quarantine. And Angus kept saying how he’d be able to cure me, but what if I don’t want to be cured? What if—What if maybe it’s time for Magnus Burnsides to get a turn at some cool magic shit? Taako and Merle have their magic, and now I have my own. No incantations or regents or wands or studying. It’s perfect! But now everybody wants to take it away from me,” Jealousy, frustration, and confusion muddled his thoughts. He could never learn any proper magic, didn’t have the patience for it, but it was powerful and useful. People made their lives easier daily by use of magic, but Magnus was just one of those people who couldn’t grasp the complexities of it. It required lots of memorization and self-control. Use of hand motions or specific words, if you even breathed a wrong way while doing a spell it’d end up wrong. Magnus could never do that, so he made do with what he had, which is why he became a fighter. Why could nobody else see the good that might come from this? “It’s not fair!” Magnus punched the wall, a crack forming where he hit.

Robbie took a very long sip of his potion.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Magnus started to pace around his cell like a caged animal.

“Listen, Magnus,” Robbie said, which made Magnus pause “Sounds to me like everyone’s just worried about you. I mean, werewolves? Don’t exactly have the best rep.”

“But I’m fine! It’s not like I’m gonna die or anything.”

“Yeah, but, you could,” Robbie shrugged and Magnus raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue “Say you’re down planetside and you transform. You could end up hurting a lot of innocent people. Whole towns have gone after werewolves in angry mobs, put bounties on their heads, hired other adventurers. They don’t care about the innocent and often clueless person behind the wolf, they just want to kill the wolf,” He took another swig “They don’t want that innocent clueless person being you. It’s called a  _ curse _ for a reason, pal.”

Magnus sighed. Robbie had a point. He was out of control the other night, and could probably do some serious damage if he wanted to. The thought made him eye the newly made crack in the cell wall.

“So, what do I do? Sit quietly and wait for a cure, or keep it and put everyone at risk?” The fighter asked.

Robbie smirked “Dunno. In the end, the choice is yours to either get rid of it or try to make the best of it. I can’t make the decision for you.”

“Wow,” Magnus grinned “That was actually a surprisingly good talk. Thanks, Pringles.”

“I’m really fucked up right now on this potion… And I’m hungry for Pringles now too actually; do you think you could ask one of the guards do get me a can?”

“Sure,” Magnus laughed, still feeling troubled but a little bit better “Let’s get some Pringles, Pringles!”

* * *

 

Magnus and Robbie continued to talk, eating chips well into the afternoon. Having someone to talk to made the whole ‘caged up’ situation a whole lot easier to deal with.

He cut himself short in the middle of laughing at a joke he’d cracked when he heard something. Magnus raised a hand for Robbie to be quiet and pressed up against the bars trying to hear better. There were footsteps. Two pairs. One pair was heavier and more frequent, meaning the person they belonged to was short and stocky. The other was lighter, more delicate, and came in long strides, indicating tallness and a certain elegance that often came with elves.

“Merle and Taako?” Magnus asked out loud.

“What about them?” Robbie asked, pressing up against the bars of his own cell.

“They’re coming this way.”

“How can you tell?”

“I can hear them-- Oh,  _ geez! _ ” Magnus covered his nose as the flowery smell of Taako’s favorite body spray and Merle’s overwhelming old man cologne mixed into a very unpleasant odor in the air “And smell them.”

The smell only got stronger as they approached, causing Magnus to take a few steps back away from the bars. Lo and behold, from around the corner came Taako and Merle, the two of them walking straight up to Magnus’ cell.

“Hey guys,” Magnus waved at them with one hand, using his other one to pinch his nose.

“Hi, Magnus, we just came down to check up on you and see how you were doing,” Merle shoved his hands in his pockets, his gaze shifted to Robbie “Glad to see the Director at least let you have someone to talk to.”

“Sup?” Robbie waved lazily as he bit into a chip.

“Merle came down here to check on you.  _ I _ came down here because the sun is setting soon,” Taako sat on the floor, crossed his legs, and swiped Robbie’s can of Pringles from out of his hands “Tonight’s the last full moon of the month and I didn’t want to be late for the show.”

“Show?” The human gave his elven friend a weird look.

Taako shrugged “You have to admit, the fact that you’re a dog now is entertaining and incredibly ironic.”

“And?” Magnus crossed his arms, trying to ignore the strong smells wafting around him. There was always an “And” with Taako. 

“Aaand I want to try to mess with you while you’re a wolf. I mean have you seen dogs? They’re dumb. And I’m not too afraid of you biting my face off this time ‘cus you’re all locked up. Let’s face it, you getting yourself turned into a mutt is one of the most interesting things to happen lately. It’s been way too quiet and boring. So I see this as a good opportunity to have some fun.”

“And that’s why I’m going to make sure he doesn’t do anything too bad,” Merle placed a firm hand on Taako’s shoulder.

“Glad you’re finding my being locked up entertaining, Taako.” Magnus said with a sarcastic roll of the eyes.

“Hey, not my fault you’re paying the consequence for getting yourself bitten.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Magnus turned on his heel and headed towards the paper screen in the back of his cell “How long do we have till the moon comes up?”

“About another fifteen minutes,” Merle replied looking at his watch “Why?”

“I just want to be prepared for when I, uh, change,” Magnus called from behind the screen. When he woke up that morning, his clothes had been in rags. If he was expected to change again tonight, he didn’t want all his clothes getting torn up again. As he got undressed he called out “Hey, I’m no expert on magic stuff, but doesn’t Polymorph magic make the clothes disappear instead of ripping them up?”

“Yeah but this ain’t no normal Polymorph spell, it’s a curse,” Taako said with a mouthful of chips, swatting Robbie’s grabbing hands away “You gotta be in control of the transformation, rather than it being forced upon you.”

“Well, that sucks,” Magnus muttered as he stripped down to his boxers. He didn’t want to have to do this every full moon. When he was done he folded up his clothes, placed them to the side, and sat down, staying behind the paper screen “How much time left, Merle?” He called.

“Five minutes.”

Magnus took a deep breath to try to prepare himself for the transformation but coughed on the strong smells wafting around the area “Hey next time you guys come down to visit me, don’t use your damn body sprays. That shit is  _ way _ too strong, especially now. The two of you smell like a lonely old man bachelor in a flower garden.”

“Hey, fuck you!” Merle replied, “At least I don’t smell like a dog!”

“Yeah, but people  _ like _ dogs.”

“Not everyone! Some people prefer cats.”

“I don’t hear anybody complaining about how Garfield always smells like cat nip. I could pick that up even before I got heightened senses.”

“He’s a warlock, he probably has a familiar somewhere.”

“I’m like 99% sure  _ he’s _ a cat.”

“What the fuck, why?”

“Has anybody ever seen his face? He has that wide brimmed hat and that long coat. I walked in there one night and I’m pretty sure I heard him ‘meow’.”

“Well you better hope not or else he’s not gonna allow you in his store anymore.”

“He wouldn’t dare or else he’d risk blowing his cover--” Magnus’ laugh was cut off by a pained shout that caught everyone off guard.

“Magnus?”

He couldn’t respond. He collapsed onto the floor and flailed. With every breath, it felt like fire bloomed in his chest and spread. His shoulder ached just as the night before. Magnus was used to pain, he wouldn’t be a very good fighter if he wasn’t. However, this was on a whole other level. He heard some sort of commotion, excited whooping, someone calling his name. He was fading.

White hot pain shot up his spine, the sound of cracking assaulted his ears, and he let out a horrible pained scream.

* * *

 

Taako wanted to see the transformation first hand. Sure he wanted to mess with Magnus a little, that was a given but, he was mostly curious. After all, these kinds of curses were meant to reflect “the beast within” whatever that meant. Merle and Taako had come up with a possible plan. They figured, if they could somehow make peace with this new beast side of their friend, make it less dangerous, they could convince the Director to let him go free.

When Magnus’ transformation began, Taako leaned forward eagerly shoving the last of the Pringles into his mouth, much to Robbie’s disappointment. He saw Magnus’ vague shadow from behind the paper screen fall over and writhe on the floor, and then Magnus  _ screamed. _

“Is it really that painful?” Merle muttered under his breath as his friend’s screaming turned into pained howling.

“His entire anatomy is being forcefully twisted and rearranged into a new form, so _ yeah _ it’s gonna be painful,” The elf snorted tossing the empty can to the side.

The next thing they knew a wolf was ramming itself into the bars of the cell.

“Well someone’s lively tonight!” Taako got up from his sitting position and approached the cell. He giggled a little bit at the sight of a wolf in bright red boxer shorts. With every step he took forward, the wolf took one step back, a deep growl coming out of the back of its throat. 

“Remember me? I’m the guy who knocked you out the other night,” Taako reached a hand out and the wolf’s growling grew louder, as if expecting him to cast a spell.

“Uh, Taako, I don’t think you should stick your hand in there,” Merle stepped forward to stand next to Taako.

“Listen to Merle, man, Magnus looks fucking  _ pissed! _ ” Robbie called from where he was hiding in the back of his cell.

“Calm down,” Taako rolled his eyes and with a quick flick of his wrist he conjured a rubber ball “I’m not trying to get myself bit.”

“Are you serious?” Merle gave him a flat look as he eyed the rubber ball “He’s not going to go for that.”

“Hmm,” The wizard gave the ball a critical look before nodding “You’re right, there’s no way he’d be interested in this. Lemme fix it real quick,” He flicked his wrist again, the ball remaining in his hand. He gave it a little squeeze and it squeaked “Squeaky ball! Dogs love squeaky toys, right?”

Merle put his face in his hands and groaned “Taako, he’s a werewolf! He’s not gonna care about a stupid squeaky toy!”

“We’ll see about that! Oh, Magnus~” Taako held the ball up for the wolf to see, waving it around in the air “Do you want a ball to chase around like a dummy? Huh? Do you?”

The wolf’s growling ceased, settling into a quiet glare.

“You want the ball?” He squeaked it a few times before tossing it into the cell “Go get it!”

The ball bounced rolling to a stop a few feet away from the wolf, which eyed the object from where it stood. There was a few moments of nothing happening before the wolf started slowly walking over to where the ball sat.

“Hah! See? Dogs can’t resist stupid squeaky toys! I told you!” Taako laughed, rubbing it in Merle’s face.

The two of them watched as the wolf picked the ball up in its mouth. It turned to look directly at them, meeting their eyes. It’s eerily calm expression turned into a snarl and it clenched its jaws, squeezing the ball between its teeth and causing it to let out one long continuous squeak.

**_‘POP’_ **

The ball turned into a sad clump of rubber clenched tightly between the wolf’s teeth. It tossed the mess to the side and growled.

Taako and Merle stood there wide eyed.

“Okay,” Taako broke the silence first “I can’t help but feel like that was some kind of threat.”

“Gee, you think so?”

The rest of the night was spent with similar attempts to try to make some sort of connection with the wolf to no avail. It growled, snapped, and clawed, trying to attack them. It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that they decided to call it a night.

“Well this was a total failure,” Merle yawned “What’re we gonna do now?”

“Let’s just head to bed. Tomorrow night isn’t a full moon so he  _ shouldn’t _ change. We should be able to talk to him then and try to come up with some sort of game plan to get him out of there.”

“Sounds good. Come on, let’s go. G’night Magnus!” Merle called over his shoulder, which was met with an angry bark “G’night Pringles! Hope you don’t get eaten!”

“Please don’t make jokes like that,” Robbie called out from his hiding spot.

“Who said I was joking? We have no idea if those bars will hold. I mean, have you seen this guy? He’s  _ huge!  _ He could tear you limb from limb if he got out.”

Luckily for Robbie, the bars would hold, and keep Magnus locked up until the sun rose. Magnus would wake up on the floor of his cell with no memory of what happened. Robbie would recount to him what happened, but only after he downed a few potions to steady his nerves.

They got lucky, but that luck was about to run out.


End file.
